“I use anything that inspires me” Sam Feldt tells me, while the photographer is taking pictures of us we've just sat down inside the press room of one of the most astounding events during Miami Music Week, Spinnin’ Sessions. Still though while other interviews are being conducted and loud music is playing background he still manages to have a natural act to everything just like his ‘Happy House’ music, “Yeah you know you see it everywhere now, you see it in the UK, Netherlands, it shows that people are really digging it.”
Sam Feldt is the fresh prince of tropical house, he's had one hit after another for the past year he seems to be all over the charts. Everything he touches turns to gold, he brought you ‘Hot Skin’ which got over 800,000 views in just a couple of weeks and his newest song ‘Show Me Love’ which gotten 4 millions views in just one month. He is unstoppable and his journey has only just begun. “To be honest, it was actually my first house track I ever heard! I used to have a drive in show, and I was 12 years old, I went to this guys house to buy tapes for my show and then he played me this track and it was ‘Show Me Love’ and ever since I got it stuck in my head and then Spinnin’ asked me to do a remix of it, a new version of it, yeah I thought this was going to be awesome but really hard as well, you know? Like there are thousands of versions of this track already and its really hard to make something thats still different and for people that are still going to like it.”
You can give Sam Feldt all the credit for now calling his music ‘Happy House’ because when I asked him what got him into making that type of music I referred it as ‘Tropical House’ – “When I started it wasn’t really called ‘Tropical House’ and then Thomas Jack he decide to call it ‘Tropical House’ and I was like yeah! It sounds a bit like my music maybe I should call my music ‘Tropical House’ and it was just I don’t know it was kind of like a crossover.” Hey its working, I said. The dutch artist just released his newest mixtape called, ‘Wildernis’ with all his different styles of music, “I always like to make a plan of some pop, some rock, some country, or maybe some hip/hop and just blend it into a mix of ‘Happy House Music’. You can called it whatever you like, but I just want to make it one perfect blend of my music.”
Sam Feldt clarifies how at the beginning of every mixtape theres an inspirational quote and then following that quote with a theme within his mix-tapes thats one of reasons that separates him from the MainStage DJs. “Its actually, well I’ve been watching movies my whole life, I’d love movies my entire life but it doesn’t have to come from movies you know I’ve used a quote from Jim Carry in a speech or I use a quote from Steve Jobs, I use quotes that inspires me, quotes that makes me feel something. For every mixtape I have some kind of theme that I look in for certain types of music that I can put into the mix of course I look for a quote that matches that that theme of that mix. So like for example the Sterrenstof one its actually a Christmas type mixtape and I decided to put in a Christmas quote and the music is kinda emotional you know so, its pretty cool yeah.”
Thats my favorite mixtape, “alright! Good! Yeah its actually the most well listened to. Yeah I’ve been quiet in terms of my own mixtape for like two months because I did like five guest mixes so I really didn’t have time to focus on my own tapes, but I decided not to do guest mixes anymore and just focus on one mixtape at a time. Starting from last month I gotta go like every month and bang them out like I used to do, it works too you know people like it and its important for me to keep it going.”
Still though his journey of spreading ‘Happy House’ across the globe is not yet accomplished, he wants his music to reach to out to all generations. I asked him what brought him to remix ‘Big Love’ which was his first ever bootleg which put him out on the scene in the first place, he did something right because my own mother is fan of the remix. “Thats the beauty of it, people ranging from 10 years old to 80 years old like it, its not that often that you can get a show for a person who is 60 years old enjoying house music and liking it” he says, with such excitement now knowing that his music reaching out other generations. He continues, “My father always put on, when I was really young he would always turn on this radio station it was called ‘Arrowed Classic Rock’ and I never really paid attention but because it was I was always on, I got to recognize and know all the songs that were playing and yeah I got my favorites but when I heard the song again and I was like Hey! I know this song from my past and I liked it so much and I think I can do something with it so I went into the studio and made the bootleg.”
Talking about all different types of music and generations I asked him what was your very first concert you attended? He couldn’t really give me a definite answer, “Thats pretty hard for me to remember because I went to so many concerts. Not only dance music, but I used to listen to a lot of rock music, I used to listen to a lot folk music too, I went to Jack Johnson concerts, I went to only rock festivals, I also used to love dubstep at one time. I’ve heard all these different periods of music in my lifetime well for one year I listen this, and listen to that and attended events that related.” If you listen to Sam Feldt’s mix-tapes like ‘Noorderlicht’ then you are familiar that he uses other revived songs from different genres and decades, I wondered what was some of his other music he listens to. “I like a lot of singer/songwriters people like James Taylor, Jack Johnson, I’ve liked country music, I like every genre, if its good, I like it. I listen this genre and thats it, no I listen to every genre, and the really good ones. I don’t think that I can think of a band right now but if you let me listen to for example a black metal song or like a really dark song thats just not my music but its really good I can still appreciate it. I don’t limit myself to just one genre.”
“I prefer to collaborate with someone outside this industry, so I would maybe like to collab with someone I don’t know a rock artist like Paul McCartney or something or maybe even a band like Mumford and Son’s something get different instruments together get people from all different genres to collaborate on one track and see what happens I think that makes it the best or the most interesting collaborations. I prefer to do that than, I like to collaborate with all the DJs and producers but I think thats more interesting to be honest.” I suggested to him that he should do that and he replied back to me with some amazing News. “Theres a lot of great stuff coming out soon, I can’t tell the details yet but were working on that kind of thing so who knows maybe in a couple of months you’ll see something.”
Sam Feldt is an intelligent person and knows exactly what he is doing with teaming up with some of the best producers and creating some of the biggest tunes that 2015 has even heard, there is no stopping this 20 year old. He has more mixes soon to be released and more tricks up his sleeves. “I like the fact that more and more people are embracing this sound so not only the tropical house DJs are playing my tracks but also people from outside the genre or maybe people that used play heavier stuff then say ‘OK this guy has been making a lot of cool melodic stuff as well and I really like it’ you know so its good to see those people are open to new sounds and for me its awesome to get my music heard by a different audience, yeah its great. I got a lot of people that like my music and also I know a lot of people feel that my music helped them in some way and thats a really awesome feeling knowing that it helped them through a tough time or give them some energy.”
With festival season now kicking it into full gear, there is no doubt that Sam Feldt has more new stuff his dedicated fans. “I got ‘Midnight Hearts’ together with ANG13, its going to be very big; its already gotten lots of support from DJs not from my scene but people like Martin Garrix, Sander van Doorn, Firebeatz, all the guys that played here at the MainStage they played so for me its a sign and its a good crossover between EDM, Big Room, and my style, and bringing the tropical house to the MainStage. Thats what Im trying to do right now, inspire a bigger audience to listen to this type of music and thats coming out. I just released a remix of RUSH by Zwette feat Molly so thats coming out in April, I got three other remixes coming out and two originals coming out soon as well, so lots of new stuff.” Sam Feldt is a true artist, and a kind person, the way he views life is beautiful and its genius how he applies it to music.
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